


heart first (but with eyes wide open)

by writing_addict



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: (and he has a glow-cat bc give him cat rights!!!), Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - The Dragon Prince Fusion, Angst with a Happy Ending, Elves, Episode s03e09: The Final Battle, F/M, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Mages, Magic, Romance, al is ezran, and dumped it here for all to see, ed is callum, ed: fuck now i gotta confront my feelings, elicia is zym, for those of y'all who dont know tdp she's the hot deaf general, it's literally that one rayllum scene from the dragon prince s3 finale but edwin, probably won't make sense unless you've seen the dragon prince, riza is amaya, roy is janai (the angery sunfire elf who thinks she's cute but wont admit it), winry is rayla, winry's an elf and since in tdp verse elves have horns GUESS WHAT SHE'S GOT, winry: yeets herself off a mountain, wrote this in a fever dream
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:53:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21635413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writing_addict/pseuds/writing_addict
Summary: "It was supposed to be enough. They were supposed to be enough. Them, and the army they raised to protect the Dragon Princess. The ones Father had thought cowed and broken had risen against him, the one that he’d branded cowards had brought the one human nation that refused to bow to him and fought proclaiming their loyalty to the true king. Dragons and elves and humans had banded together for a final stand that would decide the fate of Xerxes and Amestris both.And through it all, Winry had been up there, at the top of the Storm Spire, guarding Elicia as her parents had so many years before.Alone,except for the hatchling and Al’s irritable glow-cat and the slumbering Dragon Queen. They’d agreed it was the best strategy: the army would hold the line, he’d take down anyone who broke through, and she’d be their last line of defense. They’d said their goodbyes. They knew this might be the end."Or: FMA, but it's The Dragon Prince, with Elicia as The Dragon Prince(ss), Ed as Callum, Al as Ezran, and Winry as Rayla!
Relationships: Alphonse Elric & Edward Elric, Edward Elric & Elicia Hughes, Edward Elric & Winry Rockbell, Edward Elric/Winry Rockbell, Riza Hawkeye & Roy Mustang
Comments: 14
Kudos: 28





	heart first (but with eyes wide open)

**Author's Note:**

> i dont have any excuses. or reasons beyond "I binged s3 and this is what happened". so. uh. enjoy!
> 
> title is from beth crowley's [Eyes Wide Open](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcP4-cotaPQ)

It was supposed to be _over._

That was the only reason Ed had dared to leave the battlefield. Thanks to Ling’s warning, the tide had turned, and Father (he _hated_ that he called himself that, that he’d ridden into that battle wearing the crown that belonged to Ed’s father, that rightfully belonged to Al, that the man who was supposed to be friend and ally and guide had _killed_ their _real_ father for) had disappeared, along with Ling’s sister, leaving his army of magic-warped monsters without a leader. The dragons Al had convinced to fight with them were being freed as he hurried up the Storm Spire, his hope turning to dread with every step.

It should have been fine. Everything was _supposed_ to be fine. _Aunt Riza and that Sunfire elf bastard have control of the ground. The traitors are in custody. Al will be back on the throne as soon as we get back to Xerxes, and Elicia will be back with her mother. Winry will make sure of it._ That was what this whole quest had been for, after all. Saving the Dragon Princess. Getting the egg back to the Queen, and then, when she’d hatched, getting the little hatchling back herself. Winry had sacrificed her standing with the other Moonshadow elves, her reputation, her _family_ for the chance to bring her home. Al had been forced to becoming a king at fourteen, had grown up on the run and been denied his crown by a man who’d orchestrated his demise—and whose wards they’d grown up with, played with, trained with. Ed…

Ed had lost his father without ever really bothering to know him, lost his home to a conniving mage who wanted to destroy and rule Amestris, the land of magic that lay beyond the river of lava between the human world and the magic one. Sure, he’d gained strength and wisdom and magic, had found a best friend and something more in the same elf that tried to kill him nearly a year ago, had found a connection to the Sky Arcanum that no human had ever achieved—but to do it, he’d lost nearly everything else.

It was supposed to be enough. They were supposed to be enough. Them, and the army they raised to protect the Dragon Princess. The ones Father had thought cowed and broken had risen against him, the one that he’d branded cowards had brought the one human nation that refused to bow to him and fought proclaiming their loyalty to the true king. Dragons and elves and humans had banded together for a final stand that would decide the fate of Xerxes and Amestris both.

And through it all, Winry had been up there, at the top of the Storm Spire, guarding Elicia as her parents had so many years before. _Alone,_ except for the hatchling and Al’s irritable glow-cat and the slumbering Dragon Queen. They’d agreed it was the best strategy: the army would hold the line, he’d take down anyone who broke through, and she’d be their last line of defense. They’d said their goodbyes. They knew this might be the end.

_I don’t accept that._

_And I know this isn’t the end. Not yet._

The battle wasn’t over.

Because the farther he ascended the Storm Spire, the more something felt wrong. The closer he got to the summit, the more the runes he’d painted on his arms tingled, and the more he could hear Elicia’s terrified squealing. There was a blast of lightning as he broke into a run, eyes widening with fear as he saw a white-gold ponytail whip around a corner and heard a scream of fury. _Winry, what are you doing, what’s going on—_

His skin crawled suddenly and he doubled over, vision blurring as he shuddered against the force of the sensation—like something walking over his graze, something cold and slimy and wrong filling his veins. He raised his eyes to the purple haze filling the air, the funnel of force keeping a struggling, howling dragon hatchling still as raw, pure sky magic filtered into something else.

Someone else.

_Father was never on that battlefield at all, was he?_

He forced himself to straighten, sprinting up the steps as his heart hammered in his chest, chanting _come on come on come on_ under his breath. Dark magic crackled in the air, and he heard Father’s cold, rasping laughter, saw one of Winry’s swords embedded in the ground.

_The real fight was always up here._

He reached the top—just as Winry broke into a run. She was unarmed, she wasn’t a mage, but she was fearless and deadly and a Dragonguard like her parents before her, and Ed knew what she was about to do just before she slammed into Father. The false king’s chanting cut off with a shocked gasp and Elicia dropped to the ground like a stone, lying sprawled on the mountain’s summit. Ed rushed forward, reaching desperately—

Just as Winry Rockbell threw herself off the Storm Spire, taking the person who had set all of this in motion with her.

_No._

Ed’s heart stopped, feet skidding at the edge just seconds before she disappeared into the cloud layer. “No,” he choked out. “No, nonononono— _WINRY!”_ Her name tore from his throat in a desperate scream, dissolving into the air as rose-gold clouds swirled innocently (as if they hadn’t just swallowed his worst enemy and the person he loved most, as if she wasn’t _fallingcrashingdying)._

No answer. No dragon coming to his aid. No Skywing elf mage who can save him, or Sunfire elf warrior to show him the way. There was nothing but the howling wind and the furious, terrified pounding of his own heart.

_Gone._ Like his mother, at the claws of the Dragon King. Like his father, by a Moonshadow elf’s blade and a dark mage’s ambitions. Like Al had nearly been, imprisoned on that mage’s word and betrayed by people he thought would want peace as much as he did.

_I can’t lose anyone else._

_Especially not you._

He inhaled, exhaled—and threw himself off the spire. Gravity dragged him down, down, down, through the clouds, faster and faster until he could _see her._ Golden hair that turned white in moonlight, blue eyes as bright as the stars, horns like pure silver, and a hand reaching up toward him as if to say, _I see you._ Sacrificing herself to do the right thing until the very end. Selfless.

Well, Ed wasn’t selfless. Ed couldn’t, _wouldn’t_ lose her.

“Manus, pluma, volantus.” _Come on, come on, come on—_

Nothing. Still nothing. Tears welled up and he choked on a sob, still falling, falling, falling. _I can’t save her, I can’t save anyone—_

_“He’s smart, and kind, and brave, and he’s my friend—my best friend.” Her blue eyes twinkled as she took his hand, and he couldn’t stop himself from grinning like an idiot even as she turned defiantly back to Sol Regem. “So either we both pass, or none of us do.”_

“Manus, pluma, volantus!” He was begging the Sky Arcanum now, tears stinging his eyes as he fell further and faster, Winry still out of his reach. _Please, please, please—_

_“It’s my fault!” she shouted at him, whirling toward him with teary eyes. He jolted back, before clenching his fists at his sides as she huddled by the lagoon with a scowl. “I failed them, and—and I’m just not good enough!”_

_“Shut up,” he snapped before he could stop himself, fury rising in his chest as she looked at him, surprised. “Just—shut up! You’re too good to feel this bad about yourself!” he shouted as she turned toward him, hood drawn up as she wiped at her eyes. “I know that, and I’m a fucking idiot, Winry! Just—listen, alright?” He grabbed her hands, squeezing lightly. “You have so much courage, and empathy, and the best heart of anyone I know, even if your human impression sucks.” She choked on a laugh, and he grinned at her, pulling her hood down. “See? You know you’re amazing.”_

_Winry shook her head, swiping a hand across her eyes. “Ed…”_

_He set his jaw. “You’re strong, and fast, and—beautiful.” The word slipped out before he could think about it, and his face flushed, but he didn’t care. “Winry, you’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met.”_

“Manus pluma volantus,” he sobbed, _please, I can’t lose her—_

_“Winry—Winry, wake up!”_

_She coughed, sitting up slowly as she inhaled, greedily sucking in air. The tension ran out of Ed’s body as he grinned sheepishly down at her, meeting sharp blue eyes. “Told you we’d figure something out.”_

_“Improvising,” she muttered dryly, and kissed him. He squeaked, before leaning into the touch—_

_“Hey, that isn’t part of the spell!”_

_They jerked apart to see a bewildered-looking Al, and his face turned red as Winry let out an embarrassed noise between a yelp and a groan and buried her face in her hands. “Uh—right—so, you were gone for a while, and now…this—” he gestured between himself and Winry “—is a thing.”_

_His little brother frowned. “What?”_

_Three, two, one—_

_Al’s eyes went huge and his jaw dropped. “WHAT?”_

Blue eyes blinked slowly at him, a hand still outstretched as she fell, and fell, and fell. He reached for her helplessly, even as she gave him a heartbroken smile. _Let me go. Let me fall._

No. He couldn’t, he _couldn’t,_ because—

_I love you, Winry._

_“Manus. Pluma. Volantus.”_

The Sky Arcanum answered, and his eyes flew open as his arms _changed,_ the same way the Skywing mage’s had just two days ago. _Mage wings,_ he’d called them. _It’s never about the markings or the spellbook, Edward. That connection to the Sky Arcanum is about what you_ feel. _Magic follows emotion. Remember that._

Golden wings tucked in and he dove, swooping low with a gasp as strong arms wound around his neck. He flapped them instinctively, the sky now cradling them instead of dooming them, and dared to look down—to look at _her._ At shimmering blue eyes, wet with tears, and a dazzling smile.

“You stupid magic freak,” she croaked fondly, and Ed laughed despite the fear still hammering in his chest as she pressed her forehead to his. “I thought I said I’d save you next time.”

“You’ve saved me plenty, steelhead. Now we’re even.”

Winry laughed wetly, before closing the tiny gap between them. Ed closed his eyes, melting into the kiss, and flew them up through rose-gold clouds—up to the top of the Storm Spire, where his brother, the Dragon Princess, and the Golden Knight of Lux Area waited. Where a new world, where elves and humans fought side-by-side instead of against each other, waited.

A world they'd fight to the end for.

**Author's Note:**

> leave a comment and a kudos if you enjoyed it! I eat them up like ezran eats jelly tarts.


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